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News Release

August 20, 2009

Community power is ‘new priority’ in fight
against crime

~ SPSS research finds neighbourhood engagement a main focus for
UK police forces ~

Community consultation and feedback is considered the top priority for UK police forces in ensuring crime prevention and detection. This is according to research amongst members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) by SPSS Inc., the leading provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of respondents stated closer links with local communities was a major objective and critical in the fight against crime. This compared with 26 per cent who listed crime prevention and nine per cent who considered crime detection as a major focus for their force.

When questioned about the challenges faced in building links with their local communities, all respondents believed it was vital to close the gap between the public’s perception of crime and actual rates. Over three-quarters (77 per cent) also said they had difficulty reaching some parts of their communities and almost one-third (31 per cent) replied that capturing data and feedback from the public was a challenge.

Colin Shearer, senior vice-president of strategic analytics at SPSS, said: “To improve consultation with communities, our survey reveals that the gap between public perception of crime and actual crime needs to be addressed. This corroborates the findings of a recent Home Office crime report [1], which found that 16 per cent of people believed they are likely to be a victim of burglary compared with an actual risk of two per cent.”

Shearer continued: “Analysing attitudes, opinions and experiences from the public is essential as it enables a Police Authority to better understand public needs and track important trends, such as improvements to a community programme. This not only increases community cooperation in investigations, but leads to greater overall support for public safety.”

SPSS is working with Police Authorities, such as Greater Manchester Police (GMP), globally to improve the effectiveness of community consultation and ensure community-based policing programmes.

[1] The British Crime Survey 2008/9; www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109chap5.pdf